The Portland daily press., 1887-07-22
TROOP 3.
Captain Lawton's Famous Com
mand to Rest From Indian Fight
st. Louis Glohe-Democr

lot. LOUIS GlODe-Deln0crat
Capt. Henry w. Lawton with his cele-
brated Troop B, of the 4th Cavalry, arrived
at Jefferson Barracks the other day at AS
o'clock in the afternoon, and will remain
there few days before resuming their Jour
ney to Fort Meyer. near Washington, d. c.,
where they will be stationed in future. The
troop left Fort Huachuca, Ariz., few days
ago, and have come on through by the Mis-
souri, Pacific Railway, stopping at several
points along the way to rest and attend to
the horses. The troop numbers sfxty-four
men, and is differed by Capt. Henry W.
Lawton, First Lieut.. A. l.. Smith and Second
Lieut.. r. ID. Walsh. 1t has long been re-
garGed as one of the best troops in the cav
airy service. and since the remarkable cam
paign which resulted in the capture of &C.
ronimo and his renegade Apache band 1t has
very justly been looked upon as the crack
troop OF the 4th Regiment. La this cam
paign b troop followed Geronimo 3Oi1 miles,
over the toughest and most barren sections
of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, and finally,
after an untiring pursuit of five months,
succeeded In fairly running down and cap
turing the craftest and most desperate saw
age chief that has ever figured in the annals
Of the West. Capt. Lawton's campaign is
without precedent in any country, and the
same distance was never travelled by any
other body of men within the same time and
under the same circumstances. The cam
palgn was fraught with innumerable hard
ships, and no command ever suffered greater
prlvations or oyercame greater obstacles.
Geronimo, who had baffied pursuit year after
year, knew every mountain pass and water
hole, and he so planned his flight that his
trail led over the highest and toughest noun
talns, and by so doing hoped to make pur-
suit SO difficult that white men could not
follow him.
When Lawton, with his command. left
Fort Huachuca, on the 9th of NAV. 1856
Gen. Miles gave him no instructions except
TO follow and capture Geronimo, and this he
carried out to the letter. Wherever the
Apaches went Il troop was at their heels.
They were given no time to rest, and when
they went into camp at night, they soon
found that unless they were in the saddles
and flying over the mountains before day.
light, the troops would be upon them. Three
times during the pursuit, Lawton's troop
surprised the hostile camps, and captured
all of their animals and supplies, but each
time they broke up into bands of two and
three and scattered through the mountains
on foot, only to find the troop on their trail
as soon as they would come together again.
AT one time during the campaign the troop
was In the foothills of the Sierra Madres,
IN Mexico, almost 300 miles south of the
line, and their supply of provisions became
nearly exhausted. For three weeks the men
hau nocni1hg 70 eat except dry bread boiled
beans without particle of grease or meat,
ana Aver very poor article of coffee. On this
diet they subslsted, and managed to still stick
to the hostile trail. just about three DAYS
before Geronimo was overtaken by the COIN
mand on the Bayispe River, Capt. Lawton
with Lieut.. Smith and few of the soldiers
went ahead with the Indian scouts. The
mountains were 80 rough that the pack train
with supplies could not follow the trail and
were forced to go around by circuitous
route. This caused them to be several DAYS
behind, and for three days Lawton and his
party were without any kind of food except
some yenison, which they roasted by the
camp fires and ate without salt. This diet of
fresh meat was so nauseating that very little
could be eaten without being followed by
violent vomiting.
After Geronimo's surrender came the most
trying time of the campaign to the troops A
large force of MeXicans were close by and q
conflict was hourly expected. They did not